According to Rick Rouan of dispatch.com, the City of Columbus and the Cleveland Browns resumed talks about building a "recreation center" at Tuttle Park that would host the Browns' annual training camp.
Earlier this year, the Browns scrimmaged at Ohio Stadium for the second year in a row. It's all apart of the Browns' masterplan to wrestle capital city fans away from the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers despite having the worst-run franchise of the three.
The details, however, are the most damning part.
Under the current proposal, said Tony Collins, Columbus' director of recreation and parks, the Browns would contribute $5 million, Franklin County would contribute $5 million and the city would cover the rest of the cost of the recreation center, estimated at $15 million to $17 million.
Public money paying for billionaires' projects is an old-hat scheme. What separates the audacity of this deal, though, is usually it's only professional sports teams with this kind of gall.
The Browns are 0-12. They lost their last four games by 73 points. They're not even entertaining in how they lose. It's akin to watching Ohio State bulldoze Florida A&M—every week.
They've fired coaches, general managers, hired a guru from the Mets, and even changed uniforms. Yet they still suck.
I don't care what the Browns suits are spindling to Franklin County and Columbus officials. They could be charging $23 million for the keys to the franchise, and it would be $24 million overpriced.
The state had the sense to pull its $5 million from a similar deal last year. City officials should do the same. The Browns, for better or worse, belong to Cleveland.
